Sweet Child of Mine
by Loves Sock Monkeys
Summary: Quinn Fabray is a renowned therapist who has never recovered from her teenage pregnancy or giving her daughter up for adoption On the eve of her daughter Beth's 21st birthday the girl shows up in her office pretending to be a client. Before Quinn can discover what Beth wants the scared girl runs away, but Quinn knows what she wants. Beth is looking for a mommy. NONSEXUAL AGEPLAY
1. Be My Baby

A/N ~ contains adult themes including non-sexual age play between consenting adults. This is a future AU although it mostly sticks to canon with no spoilers through the end of Season 4.

Glee and its characters do not belong to me.

_**Much thanks to Boris Yeltsin for the idea, inspiration, and prompt for this story.**_

_**Be My Baby**_

_From the journal of Lucy Quinn Fabray May 22, 2024 Beth's 13th Birthday_

"_**I once took a walk with you…. it was the path of pain. The stones beneath my feet were sharp and rough telling me this path was the lesser one chosen…. Yet still I chose to walk it. Even worse, I forced you to walk it with me. A fierce wind tore you from my arms, but I didn't really try to hang on… For any agony I've caused you, I am eternally sorry. **_

_**So much time will pass, and yet what is time to a broken heart? It is merely a reminder of all that has been lost, of all that can never be.**_

_**Be yourself… Free yourself… Walk your own path in strength and courage. Leave behind all judgment, regret, and sadness.**_

_**Walk softly in love…**_

_**Breathe deeply in peace… **_

_**Live fully without fear…**_

_**Journey to self-discovery…**_

_**Be happy! It is the best revenge!"**_

_**Prologue: The therapist who needs therapy**_

Quinn Fabray felt like a fraud half the time, and a walking cliché the rest of the time; the therapist who needs therapy, the shrink who should be shrunk. The walking wounded who dispatched advice and counsel to other wounded souls without first fixing her own pain. She read once that people in her profession had a very high suicide rate, and it didn't surprise her. If she wasn't certain that the judgmental, unforgiving, white-bearded God of her youth would condemn her to an eternity in a fiery Hell, she might have taken that route herself.

She had gone to Yale with the intention of becoming an actress; she was after all quite adept at faking feelings and pretending to be someone else. Then her freshman roommate had quietly committed suicide, and Quinn switched her field of study to psychology. At first it was a sense of guilt, she had barely tolerated the gloomy introverted girl, and clearly missed all the signals of her increasingly desperate state of mind. Then she remembered back to her own skank phase, and realized what a walking basket case she had been senior year. What was that saying? Oh yeah, but for the grace of God, go I! It was in that moment of clarity she realized that perhaps all the experiences of her own live could benefit someone else. Perhaps in the dark recesses of her young mind, Quinn still had some hope that she could find peace and heal.

Quinn was surprised to find she had a real talent for the field. She graduated Summa Cum Laude a year early and became a sought after therapist. Deciding to remain in New Haven had been simple, and Connecticut had become home to her. It was a city large enough to get lost in, yet small enough not to feel completely alone.

She specialized in at-risk teenagers, and found she bonded well with them. She loved her job, as she cared deeply for her clients. In turn they trusted her, and responded to her ministrations. She was known professionally for thinking outside of the typical counseling box, and was willing to try unorthodox treatments. The beautiful blonde felt like she had assisted in helping many teens heal, but she had never found that level of peace in her own life she so desperately sought. Her youthful hope had long ago faded into a mature melancholy acceptance that the glass was always half empty.

Her job became her life, and she devoted at least twelve hours per day to it. She stayed late in her office, long after her last client left, and wrote detailed session notes and recovery plans. Her spare time was spent researching treatments. Then she would drive home to her solitary and isolated townhouse, eat a small dinner, indulge in a glass or two of wine in a warm bath, and fall asleep. She knew she wasn't an alcoholic, but it wouldn't take much to trip over the line. It was a cloistered life she led without even a pet to keep her company. The only thing reminiscent of her teen years was her lingering love of music and dance. She had converted her finished basement into a dance studio complete with a ballet barre that she used regularly as her own therapy.

She desired love, but the closest she ever came was anonymous sweaty sex with strangers in hotel rooms when the need to connect to another human being became overwhelming. For Quinn, sex was merely a way to scratch an itch, it was never about companionship. Occasionally the need for human touch found her in a bar then a hotel room; man, woman it didn't matter, and she always left before they woke up. She never gave them her real name or number, and never had sex with the same person twice. It kept things simple. It didn't require feelings or commitment; it was what she was best at. She knew her colleagues called her the Ice Queen, and other epithets less polite, but it didn't matter to her; she had no real friends among them, and unlike high school she felt no desire to be popular amongst her peers.

Basically she was just an incredibly lonely woman who lived in the shadows of her fears and failures.

She had never used the train pass to visit Rachel even though she was drawn like a moth to a flame to her burning ambitions and radiant personality. Mercedes had offered her love and a family, but she couldn't accept it as the pain of her own family's betrayal was still too real and raw.

She had even had a one night stand with Santana at Mr. Schue's wedding, but ran before she could be tempted into a relationship with the fiery Latina who seemed all too willing to trade one blonde for the other.

The only real family she ever had was the other losers in New Directions, but she willingly chose not to stay in touch with any of them; never attended their reunions, weddings, baby showers, or anniversary parties. She had studiously deleted their emails until one by one they all gave up on her, and stopped trying to maintain contact, even Rachel Berry who was the last to surrender.

Like everything else painful in her life, Quinn shoved unhappiness into a metaphorical closet, and locked the door behind it throwing away the key. She was a master of denial, and once she locked you away, she never gave you another minute's thought. That had worked for everything in her life except Beth. Only her child, her flesh and blood, her one good thing was she unable to lock away behind the doors of her denial. She kept her despair to a minimum though, and only indulged for a week, once a year, on the anniversary of her child's birth and adoption. For one week per year she allowed herself the full measure of her anguish, grief, and regret.

Lucy Quinn Fabray had never gotten over the trauma of her youth; parental abandonment, her lonely, fearful teenage pregnancy, and the gut wrenching adoption of her only child. She was pretty sure she didn't deserve to be loved, so she quit expecting it.

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

Today was Friday, May 21, 2032 and it was the last day of work before her yearly sabbatical of grief. Tomorrow would be Beth's 21st birthday, a milestone, a birthday that brought tremendous pain to Quinn for some reason. Without giving it too much thought, she assumed her added pain was because this birthday brought a symbolic end to Beth's childhood. Any opportunity Quinn had to be part of her daughter's childhood was at an end. Forty eight hours after Beth's birthday was the anniversary of her adoption by Shelby Corcoran. All three days would be spent in mournful isolation, until her own birthday on May 25th. She would be 36 years old this year, it felt like a milestone as well. Her youthful beauty would soon fade, and she would finally start to resemble the shell of a woman she felt like.

She would emerge from her 72 hour self-imposed cocoon of sorrow, and pick up a stranger and have sex, just to prove to herself she was still alive, that she could still feel something. Somewhere in the clinical part of her mind, it felt like a punishment of sorts, but she refused to analyze it too deeply. Then she would go home, take a hot shower, get shit faced drunk, and sing old Glee songs to the recordings of their competitions and cry until she passed out. The next day would be spent in bed suffering miserably from a horrendous hangover and regret, until it was time to get up, pack away her feelings, and go back to work. Her vacation would be over and done with until the same time next year.

Quinn walked into the bathroom, and splashed cold water over her face, and patted it dry with a soft hand towel. She studied herself in the mirror. Not vainly, her beauty had always been detrimental to her feelings of self-worth, a curse really. Quinn didn't see a beautiful woman, she saw the mask. She didn't see a nationally renowned therapist, she saw a coward. If she had a client as wounded as she knew she was, she would medicate them and lock them away as a danger to themselves. The fact she was a hypocrite didn't really bother her, one day all her pain would be gone. Maybe this weekend she would have the courage to do what needed to be done. The courage to end this sham of an existence.

Walking back to her office, she grabbed a bottle of water out of her dorm sized refrigerator, and sat at her desk looking at her appointment book. Only one more client before leaving for the week, a new person her secretary had booked without her knowledge. Having let her secretary leave early for the coming long Memorial Day holiday, Quinn made a note to talk to her about the scheduling when she returned in a week. She didn't usually take new people before her vacation. Quinn didn't want to take the chance of leaving a needy patient alone for a week, nor did she want to chance thinking about the new patient during her week of grieving. This week was her time; her gift to herself and she had no room for anyone else's pain.

Quinn looked at her watch and saw she had ten minutes before the client was scheduled to arrive. Looking at the name in the book, she saw her secretary had penciled in the name E. Shelby with the notation, 20 years old. A wave of apprehension made Quinn feel anxious, but she brushed it off. What were the odds that Beth Corcoran was this E. Shelby person? She didn't even know if E. Shelby was male or female. Besides, what would Shelby's daughter be doing in New Haven, Connecticut on the day before her 21st birthday? It was highly unlikely and the odds staggering.

The blonde was pulled out of her fretful musings by a soft knock on her door announcing the arrival of her new patient. Quinn got up, and unconsciously ran her palms down her black pencil skirt, and straightened her silk blouse. She put on her professionally concerned therapist face, and opened the door to her private waiting room.

Standing in front of her was the spitting image of herself fifteen years ago. The faux smile froze on her face, as eyes reminiscent of her favorite café au lait, eyes that sparkled with emerald specks; eyes identical to her own looked up from the floor, and held hers.

"Hello, Quinn. I'm sorry to have surprised you like this, but I saw no other way to get in touch with you. I hope you'll still see me," the elegant young woman spoke confidently. She stood up, and Quinn saw that she was nearly as tall as she was herself. She could see nothing of Noah Puckerman in the girl.

Quickly gathering her wits, she answered with equal poise, "Of course I'll see you, especially since you've put such effort into meeting me," she held the door open with one hand, and beckoned the girl into her office with the other, "How are you? How is Shelby?"

The young woman glided elegantly into the office, "I'm fine. Mama died my freshman year of college, breast cancer," she answered factually and unemotionally.

"I'm sorry, Beth," Quinn murmured sincerely, "I didn't know Shelby that well, but I am sorry for your loss."

Beth just nodded as she sat in the proffered chair, "Here, or do I need to lie on the couch?"

Quinn saw Puck's sarcastic smirk flash across her daughter's face, and a flicker of pain struck Quinn like a hammer to her chest. She nearly gasped out loud at the sudden surgical precision of the pain in her heart. She tried not to close her eyes, and remember that same smirk on the face of the teenage boy in her room in Lima under the picture of Jesus. She found it hard to breath.

She reeled in her pain, chanting a mantra in her head, 'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…" as she walked to her desk to grab her notebook. She kept her back to Beth taking a moment to rein in her galloping emotions.

"I'm sorry, Quinn did you hear me?" Beth interrupted the whirlwind of thoughts.

She turned and smiled at her lookalike, "I'm sorry I didn't, could you please repeat what you said?"

"I asked if it was alright to call you Quinn."

Quinn sat in the chair opposite her doppelganger, and ran her sweaty palms over her skirt, making the move look smooth and practiced, not desperate and anxious, "I comfortable with Quinn. I think at this point what you want to call me is entirely up to you. I have a PhD but Doctor Fabray is too formal as is Ms. Fabray, and Mom is inappropriate at this juncture, so Quinn is a healthy medium," she cursed herself for rambling but was unable to stop the words once they started flowing. It was the only external sign of her discomfort. She blamed it entirely on all the years spent in Glee club with Rachel Barbra Berry.

Beth smirked at her once again with Puckerman's lips, and it was starting to grate on Quinn's nerves, but she pushed it down. Quinn was curious, and presumably in control of this session so she decided to take advantage of that.

"You're a lovely young woman, Beth. I see a lot of me in your physical features, but some of Noah in your personality, and your confidence is pure Shelby Corcoran. Where did you attend college?"

"University of California - Berkeley until we found out Mama was so sick, and then I moved back home and attended Columbia after she died," she crossed her arms, "Do you really give a shit where I went to college?" Beth said coldly in an even tone, reminiscent of her biological mother's alto voice.

Quinn saw a quick flash in the woman's eyes; impatience, rage, hate? It was gone just as quickly as it had shown up. It was mixed with sadness and grief but whatever it was went deeper than that.

She crossed her legs, sat back in her chair, and really looked at Beth Corcoran. The icy cool exterior was an act. Quinn had been fooled by it at first, but of course she recognized it. It was her signature move after all. Beth was struggling to keep up appearances, to remain unemotional and it made Quinn more relaxed.

She hadn't planned on this reunion happening, ever really, but Beth was sitting in her office and she was going to make the most of it. The older woman pinned her with her laser eyes, and raised the eyebrow that still intimidated the strongest of souls, "There are many things about you and your life I care about, and I'd like to discuss them with you if you are comfortable doing so. But, I don't appreciate the language or the attitude and I would recommend you refrain from using profanity when talking to me," she said coolly.

It took all of Beth's willpower not to squirm in her chair. She had grown up around Shelby Corcoran, an intimidating woman in her own right, but Quinn Fabray was an entirely different level of terrifying. She took a calm, steadying breath, "Or what?" She crossed her arms and her legs, and leaned back in her seat trying to look unintimidated.

Quinn was about to answer when she heard a crinkling noise when Beth had crossed legs. Her eyes inadvertently went to Beth's lap where the sound seemed to have originated from. It sounded like plastic, like perhaps she was wearing a diaper or rubber pants, but that couldn't be right. Her eyes slowly made her way up to Beth's face. The young woman's cheeks were both flushed a deep cherry red, and she was sweating profusely. She was clearly embarrassed, ashamed, or flustered, "Beth?" Quinn questioned when the woman wouldn't meet her eyes.

The young blonde suddenly jumped to her feet, "Shut up, just shut up. This was a mistake. I never should have come here," she was walking briskly towards the office door, "I don't know what I expected, but it isn't here! I'm sorry to have bothered you," she cried starting to completely lose her composure.

Quinn moved just as fast as her daughter, "Sweetheart, whatever it is that is upsetting you is nothing I haven't seen or at least heard of. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Just talk to me. I promise I won't judge you," she grabbed Beth's arm to prevent her from running out of the door and out of her life.

The slap echoed around the room. Quinn slowly put her hand up to her reddening cheek, as Beth pulled her hand away like she had been burned. They were both shocked into silence; it had obviously been a spur of the moment action on Beth's part. Her lips moved but no words came, so she turned on her heels and ran out of Quinn's office. She slammed the door, hard, and it sounded like finality, like a death knell to Quinn.

The older blonde stood staring at the door for a long time, unable to move. Her breathe was shaky, as were her legs, _'What the fuck just happened?'_ she thought to herself. Moving robotically, she went to her desk and sat down heavily, "Think, Quinn, think," she murmured to herself.

Beth came here for a reason, now what was it? She had been calm, cool, and collected at first so a histrionic confrontation didn't feel like the reason. She was well dressed and looked healthy so it didn't seem like it was health related like she needed money or a kidney or anything. She hadn't asked her biological mother any questions so it didn't seem to be a matter of curiosity or a need for an explanation.

Beth had seemed shocked by the slap, so Quinn didn't think that was her purpose for coming. Quinn sat slumped at her desk perplexed as to the reason for her daughter's visit, '_what had set Beth off like that?' _she wondered. Then it came to her, the noise, and the crinkling plastic sound. Beth _**had **_been wearing a diaper, or something very much like it! The woman who had raised Beth, her mama, had died four years ago. It was the night before her 21st birthday. It was a milestone to Beth as well. She was seeking something; she was seeking comfort, solace, something. Then the thought struck Quinn Fabray like lightening; Beth wanted a mommy; her baby was looking for her mommy.

Quinn sat up like a shot, and grabbed her laptop. She was scrambling to think and search at the same time. She knew that Beth most likely still lived in New York City. She would have no reason to stay in New Haven for the night, especially being emotional and embarrassed. Beth would want to get as far away from Quinn as possible, as quickly as possible. If she wanted to go home she would take the Metro-North's New Haven Line from New Haven to Grand Central Station.

She quickly pulled up Metro-North's schedule and found exactly what she was looking for. Quinn checked her watch and knew she had barely enough time to catch Beth before she boarded that train. Once she did, Beth Corcoran would be lost to her forever. Quinn grabbed her purse and literally ran out of her office. She skipped the elevator, and saved time by dashing down the stairs. She was moving on sheer instinct and adrenaline. It wasn't the time to think, it was time to act.

For the first time since the day she signed the adoption papers, Lucy Quinn Fabray prayed. With all her strength she prayed, and with nothing held back she prayed. It was a simple three word prayer, "Help me, please?"

Abandoning her car in a no parking zone, Quinn ran in her heels and tight skirt for the platform. As she entered she heard the first announcement of the intent to board, and she ran even faster if possible. There were so many people, so she scanned quickly searching out slender, professional looking, blondes in skirts and heels. It made her smile unconsciously; Beth had picked up her fashion sense without even being around her. She licked her lips as she scanned, praying again.

She felt her heard thud heavily in her chest, and it felt like it stopped beating when she spotted Beth a few rows in front of her slowly moving forward to board. Quinn pushed and shoved her way to the front of the line, apologizing as she went. Her child needed her, and she wouldn't fail her again.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Quinn. She could see Beth hugging herself as if trying to keep herself together emotionally as she moved forward in line. Just as Beth was about to step from the platform onto the train, Quinn grabbed her arm and jerked her backwards towards her. Beth lost her balance and fell back into her biological mother's chest. Quinn quickly wrapped her arms around Beth's waist to stop her from pulling away from her.

"What the fuck," Beth snapped angrily, her eyes going wide when she saw who held her tightly in her arms, "Quinn? What are you doing here?"

Quinn pulled Beth out of the human traffic and over towards a more private area. She noticed Beth was still too surprised to fight her. When they got over into a corner, Quinn gently guided the smaller woman up against the wall and stood directly in front of her, blocking Beth's escape.

Beth's eyes flashed emerald fire, and Quinn was amused, she did the same thing when she was angry, "I said what the fuck are you doing?" Beth barked coldly.

Quinn glared back at her before relenting, "I couldn't let you leave like that Beth. You came to see me for a reason," she moved slowly towards the cornered young woman, trying not to spook her.

"It doesn't matter, it was a mistake," Beth whispered, "I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry I bothered you," all her fire seemed to be leaving as quickly as it came.

"It wasn't a mistake, Beth, it wasn't," Quinn said sincerely, "I'm sorry if I upset you but talk to me!"

"I can't! You wouldn't understand!" The girl cried softly.

Quinn moved until she was face to face with Beth, moving slowly like she would with a wounded animal caught in a trap, she wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist. She moved one hand down and patted her backside, feeling the heaviness of the diaper, "I do understand, Beth and I think I know why you came to see me. It's something that I want as well," she whispered reassuringly to the frightened girl in her arms, "Come home with me, and let me mother you. Be my baby…." She pulled the sobbing woman close to her chest and rocked her as she cried.

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_**To be continued…. This was the setup chapter obviously, and we are going to move quickly to the age-play with Beth coming home with Quinn.**_

_**I would appreciate comments and reviews, and I don't really plan on this being a long ongoing story. I have it planned out and will try to update quickly until it is finished.**_

_**Thanks for reading. Original poetry at the beginning by moi! :D**_


	2. For All Time

A/N ~ contains adult themes including non-sexual age play between consenting adults. This is a future AU although it mostly sticks to canon with no spoilers through the end of Season 4.

Glee and its characters do not belong to me; neither does Beauty and the Beast or In My Daughter's Eyes.

_**Much thanks to Boris Yeltsin for the idea, inspiration, and prompt for this story.**_

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_From the journal of Lucy Quinn Fabray_

_ May 22, 2032 _

_Beth's 21__st__ Birthday _

_I held you in my arms, we shared a smile, Hazel eyes searched my familiar voice_

_A joyous smile a kiss on the forehead, Hushed promises whispered in secret _

_I felt a joy I had never known before, Heaven's floodgates opened wide. _

_Nine months together we shared a body, a soul. A love story for all eternity._

_I missed your first smile, first words, first steps but you were always with me. _

_This morning you sleep in the room down the hall. I'll never let you go again. _

_Happy Birthday, Angel. Mommy loves you._

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_Quinn used to hate going home, it was a lonely place. Since Beth had come to her office the night before her birthday, she had found a reason for living. She had convinced her daughter to miss the train and go out for coffee. _

_Beth explained that she was in New Haven for a job interview, in internship in broadcast television. It was a stressful time for her, and she missed Shelby terribly. It was always during the taxing times in her life that Beth missed Shelby the most, and started wearing diapers. It comforted her, grounded her, and helped her stay calm. She had come to Quinn hoping to be mothered. Halfway through the meeting with her biological mother, her fear and shame overcame her desires for a mother. She panicked and ran out of Quinn's office. When Quinn had come for her at the train station, Beth gave in._

_Quinn was more than willing to be her mother. It didn't matter that Beth needed to wear diapers and be a toddler to feel secure. Those were the years that Quinn had missed and grieved for daily. She was excited to finally be able to share them with Beth._

_A week after their initial meeting in Quinn's office, Beth accepted the twelve week apprenticeship at the local NBC affiliate and moved in with Quinn. In that week, Quinn had converted her family room to a nursery, and her spare room was set up to accommodate a toddler. _

_Every morning Quinn would wake up her three year old daughter, and feed her breakfast. Adult Beth would get ready for work and leave while Quinn showered and got ready for her own job. Beth would get home by 3pm and take a nap. Quinn would come home, and wake her toddler up from her nap and they would spend the evening together as mother and daughter. She wasn't sure why Beth had settled on the age she had, but assumed it allowed her to be fully cared for but still granted her a measure of autonomy._

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

The alarm rang jarringly an hour before Quinn was used to getting up, but anything for her baby girl. She got up and put on her favorite baby blue silk robe, and slippers. Shuffling into the kitchen she put on the coffee, and would then go wake up her three year old while it brewed. No matter how many times Quinn saw her daughter sleeping; it still took her breath away.

The tiny blonde was always curled on her side into as small a ball as possible, she looked like a tiny kitten. Her blanket was tucked around her shoulders, the long pink ears of her stuffed bunny gripped tightly in her fist being held tightly to her chest. Her ash blonde hair was fanned across her pillow. She looked like an angel. In sleep, all the cares and worries she wore like clothing were not visible, and she appeared to be so much younger than she really was.

"Good morning lady bug, it's time to wake up sweetie," Quinn sat on the side of the bed, and rubbed her hand up and down Beth's leg, "Bethie, time to get up big girl. It's time for breakfast, and then mommy has to go to work."

The toddler always had to be woken gently or she was a crab all morning, so Quinn would lie down next to her daughter and pull the covers back slowly from her face as she sang the same song every morning.

_Wake up Bethie it's time to start your day,_

Wake up

_Bethie__ it's time to start your day,_

Make your bed, dress with care, brush your teeth, comb your hair,

Wake up

_Bethie__ it's time to start your day._

Every morning a mischievous grin would cross the toddler's face, even as her eyes remained squeezed tightly shut. It was mommy's clue start playing itsy bitsy spider and end up tickling Beth under her chin. She would squeal with laughter, slapping away the play spider and wiggling away from her mommy's tickling fingers.

"Good morning, angel," Quinn cooed, "did you sleep well?"

Beth sat up, wiping her eyes with her little fists and yawned widely, "Uh huh."

"Aw good, I'm so glad," Quinn pulled the covers back slowly, "is your pull up dry, big girl?"

Beth nodded proudly, "It is, I din't go potty in my sleep!"

Quinn scooped her daughter up in a big hug, "I'm so proud of you, sweetie. You stayed dry all night long," she took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom. She watched Beth pull down her pajama bottoms and pull up, and helped her onto the potty.

"You keep this up, and you can wear big girl undies to bed very soon!"

"Can we buy Hello Kitty undies, mommy?" she asked shyly.

"Sure, we can go pick some up tonight when I get home from work. Would you like to go shopping later? We can go to Harry's Diner for dinner if you like?"

"I gets to have chickie fingers, french fries, and pop?" she squealed happily.

Quinn helped Beth wash her hands, "You may have chicken fingers, french fries, broccoli, and milk," she saw her daughter's stormy frown, "but if you are good and eat all your food, you can have ice cream for dessert."

Beth bit her lip as she thought about it, she was clearly wondering if throwing a tantrum would get her a Sprite.

"… or you can get a spanking and an early bedtime with no ice cream?" Quinn decided to help forestall the tantrum by laying out her options.

"Okay, no pop," she shrugged cutely and dried her hands on the towel. She turned and wrinkled her nose, grinning mischievously, "chocolate milk?" she negotiated.

Quinn ruffled her hair, "We'll see you little manipulator. Are you hungry, lady bug?"

"I'm very hungry, mommy," as if on cue her stomach growled loudly causing mother and daughter to giggle.

"You sound like you have a tummy monster growling in there," Quinn smiled widely rubbing her daughter's belly, "Come on, let's go eat," Beth ran excitedly towards the kitchen.

"Hey, no running in the house, little girl," Beth said sternly, following her down the hallway into the kitchen. She caught up to the girl, and patted her gently on her pajama clad bottom as a gentle reminder.

Beth clambered up onto the kitchen chair, and sat waiting expectantly for food.

Quinn poured Beth some orange juice in a pink sippy cup, and set it down in front of her, "So eggs on toast or cereal and banana?"

The little blonde sighed heavily, "No pancakes or bacon?"

"Not this morning, lady bug. We don't have enough time," Quinn said apologetically.

"Cereal and banana then," the younger blonde conceded sadly as if she were ordering arsenic, clearly disappointed that pancakes were not an option this morning.

Quinn laughed at the look of doom on her little girl's face, "I'll make pancakes and bacon for us this Saturday, I promise," she sipped her coffee and pulled a bowl out of the cupboard. She poured in some Cheerios and sliced a banana in the bowl, topping it off with vanilla soymilk. She popped some rye bread in the toaster, and took the bowl and set it down in front of her daughter.

Beth grabbed the spoon, and shoved a huge amount of cereal into her mouth. She was ravenous.

Quinn turned from buttering her toast, "Hey, slow down before you choke," she scolded gently.

"I wanna finish and watch Sponge Bob," hazel eyes looked up at her mommy, and she cracked a big grin while the milk dribbled down her chin.

Her mommy shook her head fondly, "We have plenty of time to watch that irritating sponge, now slow down," she took a napkin and wiped her daughter's chin, placing a gentle kiss on her nose.

Beth nodded but continued to shovel the food in when her mommy wasn't watching. She put her bowl and cup in the kitchen sink, "TV now?"

Quinn was loading the dishes into the dishwasher, "Ok, I'm going to take my shower and get ready for work."

And so there days began….. Quinn would go to work, counseling damaged teenagers all day long doing her best to make a difference in their lives, but still biding her time until she could go home to her toddler.

Beth went off to the local affiliate to learn all she could about television journalism. A fire burned inside her to become a journalist and because of her looks, television journalism seemed a clear cut choice.

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

Quinn held Beth's hand and led her to the back of Harry's Diner. It was their favorite place to eat; the food was good and inexpensive but the diner was private so Beth could be three years old in peace. Quinn led her to their booth in the back. They had become regulars, so the waitress brought them two waters, a glass of milk and a cup of tea. Quinn perused the menu, but she always ordered the same BLT with a side salad with Ranch dressing. Beth got her chicken fingers, french fries, with a side of steamed broccoli.

If the waitress thought anything was out of place about a grown woman ordering a kids meal, and asking for crayons she never mentioned it. They were nice people, regular customers, and big tippers so it was none of her business.

Quinn got them both settled, and pulled out a Disney princess coloring book for her daughter. Beth babbled eagerly about her new clothes, and the shopping they had just finished doing.

Quinn smiled tenderly, "There's no pressure to use your big girl panties, lady bug."

Beth was concentrating fully on her coloring, the pink tip of her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth. She looked up in confusion, "What'd you mean, mommy?" She tilted her head, her eyebrow cocked at an angle. Quinn nearly laughed out loud; it was like looking in a mirror.

"I mean you don't have to wear the big girl undies to bed if you're not ready. If you do wear them and have an accident it's ok, you won't be in trouble."

"Ok," Beth smiled sweetly and went back to her coloring, "Mommy?"

"Hmmmm?" Quinn hummed softly.

"Can I gets chocolate ice cream?"

"Yes, ladybug, you may _have _chocolate ice cream if you eat all your broccoli."

The two finished their dinner, and with a little encouragement Beth finished her broccoli and got to have a dish of ice cream. The waitress put a tiny dab of whipped cream and a cherry on top much to Beth's delight. Quinn smiled her thanks to the waitress and gave her a nice tip.

She put Beth in the backseat of the car, and fixed the seat belt so she was safe and sound. Quinn turned on the radio on the way home. She looked in the rearview mirror, and saw that Beth had fallen fast asleep. The mom hummed to the song softly, letting her little one sleep.

It was dark outside when they got home, and Beth woke up as they pulled in the driveway, "Hi there Sleeping Beauty, did you have a nice nap?"

Beth got a look of annoyance on her face, it was pure Puckerman, "I not napping, just had my eyes closed."

"Oh, I see," she rolled her eyes, "come with mommy, I want to show you something," she held her hand out, and Beth took it.

Quinn led Beth into the kitchen, and took a box off of the top of the refrigerator. She went into her kitchen drawer and pulled out a box of matches. She led her daughter out onto the back porch, turning off all the lights as she went.

Beth whined a little, 'I scared of the dark, mommy."

"Don't be scared, lady bug. Mommy won't let anything happen to her little girl," she squeezed Beth's hand and led her onto the back porch. It only took a minute for Quinn's eyes to adjust to the darkness. She pulled a chair away from the table and sat down, pulling Beth onto her lap. She set the box down on the table along with the matches.

Beth looked up at the sky, "What's those?"

"Those are the stars, lady bug. They live far up in the sky and they are far far away. Aren't they pretty?" Quinn asked softly, holding Beth tightly against her chest, her arms around her waist.

"Not as pretty as you, mommy," Beth said sweetly, her head resting back on Quinn's chest.

"Not as pretty as you either, baby girl," Quinn whispered in her ear, and kissed her temple. They stayed quiet staring at the stars for a long time.

"What's in the box, mommy?" Beth sat up quickly, she was falling asleep on her mommy's lap and she didn't want to go to sleep yet.

"I bought you some sparklers. Have you ever seen sparklers?"

Beth nodded in excitement, "No, I never ever seen them. What do they do?"

Quinn laughed and sat Beth on her feet, "I'm about to show you what they do," she opened the box of sparklers and took one out. Then she handed it to Beth to hold. It was long and thin, silver and shiny and Beth held it gingerly afraid of what it might do to her.

Quinn removed a match from the box, "These are matches, Beth and they are very dangerous. You must never touch them because it could start a fire and you could get hurt. Only mommy is allowed to touch matches, do you understand?"

Beth nodded quickly, her eyes big and round, shining with interest.

"I'm very serious, Beth Corcoran, I will spank your bottom if I catch you touching these matches," Quinn said sternly.

The little girl scoffed, and rolled her eyes, "I won't touch them," she whined, "can we do the sparkler now?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes, and stared her daughter down for a few seconds longer, "Watch your attitude, little girl. Matches are very dangerous, and I just want you to understand that. If you are going to be naughty we can just go to bed and forget about the sparklers."

"I'm sorry, mommy. I won't be bad anymore, I promise," she shifted on her feet, and looked at her feet. She was genuinely remorseful.

"I accept your apology, ladybug. Now mind your manners, and we can do the sparklers," she said softly.

"I'll be good, mommy," Beth said earnestly as Quinn struck the match head and applied the fire to the end of the sparkler. It ignited immediately, spitting and sputtering sparks.

Beth shrieked in fright, and then laughed nervously when her mommy took her hand and helped her waving the sparkler around leaving waves of light and sparks in the blackness of the back porch. The second sparkler had Beth squealing with excitement, and by the third she didn't need her mommy to hold her hand anymore. She was waving the sparkler in the air, and skipping around the porch. Beth couldn't remember ever having so much fun.

She set the finished sparkler on the table with the rest of the burned out sparklers, "Do you want to do some more, lady bug?"

Beth giggled and reached for the burnt out sparklers on the table. Quinn tried to grab her hand, but wasn't quick enough, "Beth don't… it's hot!"

The little girl shrieked when she grabbed a hot sparkler, quacking dropping it back on the table, "Ow, mommy that hurted me…" she sobbed popping her burned finger in her mouth.

Quinn leapt to her feet, "Oh darling, I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful," she pulled Beth's finger out of her mouth and blew on it softly, "Come on, baby let's go fix your finger," she forgot the sparklers and the matches on the table and led the little girl into the kitchen.

Beth sobbed, "Mommy my finger burns really bad," she held her finger out while her chin quivered and big fat tears rolled down her face.

Quinn turned on the faucet, and let the cold water run. She held Beth's finger under the water as she murmured words of comfort and love. Soon the cold water had the desired effect and numbed her finger, and Beth's sobs turned to pathetic whimpers.

"Come on, lady bug. We need to go upstairs to the bathroom and get some medicine for your boo boo," she took Beth's hand and led her to the bathroom. She grabbed the aloe vera out of the cupboard, and squirted some on Beth's finger. Softly blowing cool air on her finger, she sat down on the toilet seat lid and pulled Beth on her lap, "This will make it stop burning, baby. Aw honey, you have a little blister that must hurt so much, my poor angel."

"Uh huh…" Beth whimpered her breath hitching between hiccups.

Quinn applied some more aloe, and kissed Beth on her forehead, "I bet a Popsicle might help you feel better, what do you think?"

"Uh huh…" Beth gave her mommy a watery smile, "banana?"

"Anything you want, angel," Quinn smoothed her daughter's hair off her forehead, "why don't we put on your pajamas and watch a movie before bed?"

"Can we do more sparklers?" Beth asked her voice shaking.

Quinn laughed, "You still want to do the sparklers? You are such a big brave girl, mommy is so proud of you!"

"I wants to play with them again, they were very pretty mommy. Thank you for buying them."

"Let's get our pajamas on. What movie do you want to watch?" The two walked into Beth's bedroom. Beth sat on her princess canopy bed while her mommy grabbed the pajamas from her drawer.

"I wants to watch Belle," Beth was distracted by the blister on her still slightly burning fingertip. She blew on it like she had seen her mother do, "can I wear my big girl undies tonight, mommy?"

"Oh lady bug, I have to wash them all tomorrow before you can wear them, one more night with your pull ups?"

Beth huffed loudly, "Ahhhhhlllriiiight…" she drew out making sure her mommy knew she was not happy about that.

Quinn turned quickly to hide her amused grin. She didn't want Beth to think she was laughing at her, "Come on big girl, let's get dressed and watch our movie before it gets too late."

She led a pajama clad Beth into the living room, and got her settled on the couch. She put the movie in the DVD player and went to get her daughter her banana popsicle. She came back and sat down pulling Beth into her side, and handed the sweet treat to her as she hit play.

Beth slurped and sucked on the popsicle noisily as she watched the movie, quietly singing along with the songs. Quinn watched her daughter happily, seeing the baby she had given up as a three year old whose burned finger was quickly forgotten by an entertaining movie and a banana popsicle.

The blonde toddler was singing along loudly to "Be Our Guest" as her mommy watched her with tears of love and pride in her eyes. She turned and looked at her mommy, "I love Chip, he's so funny. Don't you love Chip too, mommy?"

"I do love Chip, but I love you the most, angel," she said softly, her voice deep with emotion.

Beth's grin became wide, "I love you the mostest too, mommy," she got distracted by Mrs. Potts scolding Chip and she turned back to the television, the tender moment filed away but not forgotten by either.

As the movie titles rolled down the screen, Beth was fast asleep softly snoring with her head in her mommy's lap. Quinn was running her fingers through her daughter's long hair, smoothing it as she went. She wiped a stray tear, and gently shook her baby awake, "Lady bug, I need you to get up baby, I can't carry you to bed."

Beth opened one hazel eye warily, and groaned. She stood up, sleep walking to her bed with her mommy guiding her gently.

Quinn held the covers back as Beth crawled in; she grabbed her bunny and held it to her chest. Quinn leaned over and kissed her gently. She tucked Beth in, and turned on the night light. She was nearly to the door when she heard a tiny voice, "Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Will you lie down with me until I fall asleep," she whispered quietly.

Quinn felt her heart flutter, "Of course my darling," she rushed back to the bed, and crawled in beside Beth. The tiny girl turned into her mother, and burrowed into her arms. She sighed loudly as she snuggled close, her mommy's arms wrapped around her holding her tightly. Beth tucked her head under her mommy's chin feeling safe and loved.

"Sing to me?" Beth whispered sleepily.

"Always, baby," Quinn started singing in her soft, sweet alto...

_In my daughter's eyes, I am a hero.  
I am strong an' wise,  
And I know no fear.  
But the truth is plain to see:  
She was sent to rescue me,  
I see who I wanna be, in my daughter's eyes._

_In my daughter's eyes, everyone is equal,_  
_Darkness turns to light,_  
_And the world is at peace._  
_This miracle God gave to me,_  
_Gives me strength when I am weak._  
_I find reason to believe, in my daughter's eyes._

_An' when she wraps her hand around my finger,_  
_Oh, it puts a smile in my heart._  
_Everything becomes a little clearer._  
_I realise what life is all about._  
_It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough;_  
_It's givin' more when you feel like givin' up._  
_I've seen the light: it's in my daughter's eyes._

_In my daughter's eyes, I can see the future._  
_A reflection of who I am,_  
_An' what will be._  
_An' though she'll grow an', some day, leave:_  
_Maybe raise a family,_  
_When I'm gone, I hope you'll see,_  
_How happy she made me,_  
_For I'll be there, in my daughter's eyes._

Beth was fast asleep by the end of the song, and Quinn had tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew now that nothing happened by accident. Beth had been a special gift her fifteen year old self was unprepared for. She was ready for the gift now. She knew Beth coming back into her life was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she was prepared to make the most of every minute of their time together.

_**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**_

_**To be continued…. Little Beth finds her way into trouble next chapter; she is part Puckerman after all. I hope you liked this chapter. If you did please let me know.**_

_**Song used: **__**Martina McBride**__** - In My Daughter's Eyes**_

_**Bad Poetry is all mine :D**_


End file.
